Episode 440 with Joe: The Importance of Companionship.

It would be virtually impossible to properly convey just how important Joe is both to the show and to Alex and me as a friend. He is one of the main people we leaned on the most when we first started out in 2012 and always made time to come on and chat with us whenever we hit him up. Over time, he turned into our unofficial gaming correspondent, providing brilliant write-ups and reviews in addition to vital coverage in the field at shows like PAX East. He gave us suggestions for potential guests, helped us out with interviews, and couldn't be beat when it came to promoting the show at conventions.

We have a bunch of these "final appearance" episodes coming up as we wind down to episode 450 but you'll have to excuse me if I get a little extra sentimental over this one. Yes, Joe has been a staple of the show for a decade now and we've had a ton of fun chatting with him. But as it turns out, Joe is also my oldest friend. We've known each other for well over 20 years now dating back to middle school living two streets over from each other. We shared our first apartment together, met most of our friends while working at the Local Theme Park together, and he helped Alex and me make a silly little podcast over the last 10 years. I could go on at length about the memories we've shared but I'll just leave it at this: he is, without a doubt, one of the best friends I've ever had.

Ok. I got all the sappyness out of my system, I think. So let's get down to business.

Joe is a true OMV legend. And this week we're going to honor him in the best way we know how: By talking about the latest Pokemon game.

Enjoy!

-Jr.